Keywords: Socialization, Leadership, Management Development, Management Performance, Onboarding

Transcription

1 Title: Leader socialization in organizations: The importance of making connections for leadership performance. Corresponding author: Russell Korte University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Assistant Professor Department of Human Resource Education College of Education 1310 South Sixth Street Champaign, IL 61820, USA Second author: Maude DiVittis, Teacher s College, Columbia University/Doctoral Candidate 525 West 120 th Street New York, NY 10027, USA [email protected] Conference Stream: Leadership and Management Development Submission: 3.17 Working Paper Keywords: Socialization, Leadership, Management Development, Management Performance, Onboarding

2 Leader socialization in organizations: The importance of making connections for leadership performance. Newly hired leaders entering a new organization often find the socialization process a demanding experience--expectations are high, the stakes are high, and the newcomer s knowledge of the organization is low. The literature relating to the socialization of new leaders generally focuses on succession planning, managerial control, and assimilation. The foci tend to be on the relationship of succession events to outcomes or performance, contributing quickly with early wins and taking control of the situation, and the newcomer conforming to the new organization. This perspective assumes that it is the responsibility of the new leader to master the organization s systems and thus underestimates the crucial development of high-quality interdependent relationships required to perform effectively with other members of the management team. Research indicates that 40% of leaders entering new organizational roles fail during their first 18 months. Different calculations of the direct and indirect costs of failure range from half a million dollars to nearly $3 million dollars for each incident (Downey, March & Berkman, 2001) not to mention the stress and damage to the individual s career. More and more organizations recognize the critical importance of the initial experiences on the job for new employees and consequently they realize the need to actively manage, facilitate, and support how newcomers transition into contributing members of the organization (Ashforth, Sluss & Saks, 2007; Bauer, Bodner, Erdogan, Truxillo & Tucker, 2007). Over time, this realization has evolved from narrowly focused information presentations (new employee orientation) to more broadly focused learning and coaching experiences (onboarding). For organizational leaders, the onboarding process is often more complex and less structured. The primary goal of new leader onboarding programs is to introduce new employees to the company, the people, and the procedures; facilitate integration into teams; develop the newcomer s sense of collective identity; and foster a feeling of belonging to the organization (Denis, Langley & Pineault, 2000; Downey et al., 2001). For new leaders, the difficulties of onboarding stem from the tensions between beliefs that leaders should know what to do and their lack of knowledge of the intimate workings of the organization. This gap between beliefs and reality contributes to higher levels of failure and attrition in executive ranks (Downey et al., 2001). Furthermore, the scholarly literature on socialization is fragmented and narrowly focused on individual performance (Moreland, Levine & McMinn, 2001) relegating systemic and organizational factors to the background. Thus there is a need for more understanding of the onboarding process (transition or socialization) for new leaders in organizations. Research Design This paper draws on findings from a qualitative comparison case study of an executive onboarding process at a single organization as it relates to relationship building. The study explores the support that leaders who are new to that organization experience and perceive as valuable. By learning from leaders who have experienced the support of an executive coach in their onboarding process, the study explored new

3 territory within the coaching landscape and the onboarding arena. This study examined leaders who utilized a transitions coach during the onboarding process and leaders who did not have a transitions coach. With respect to both groups, the study sought to identify and better understand the learning tools and techniques that the leader, new to the organization, experienced and perceived as valuable. The following three terms are pivotal to this research: 1) transitions coaching; 2) onboarding; and 3) support. These terms are defined for this study as follows: transition(s) coaching guides a leader through a process of change within an organization. In this regard, the emphasis is on enabling leaders to recognize the stages involved in the transition and to act in appropriate ways to facilitate a successful change, while empowering these leaders to help others to do the same (Bridges, 2004). Onboarding, perhaps a new term in the lexicon of Human Resource Development scholarship can be best defined as a strategic learning and integration process and that provides support and resources for a new employees journey as they become productive members in order ultimately to promote and accelerate individual, team and organizational performance. Finally, support in this study is defined as a resource and part of the transition program. It is recognized as a variable or factor that influences the ability of the individual to cope during a transition (Goodman, Schlossberg, & Anderson, 2006, p. 55). The research questions attempt to capture the uniqueness of each individual transition. In order to do this it is necessary to examine the type of transition, the context of the transition, and the [perceived] impact of the transition on the individual s life (on relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles) (Goodman, Schlossberg, & Anderson, 2006, pp ). To achieve these goals, the study makes use of the following three broad questions designed to elicit the relevant experiences and perceptions of the participants, as well as sub-questions that relate this data to situational and individual variables. 1. What support did the participants, who are leaders new to their organizations, perceive as valuable during the onboarding process? 2. What strategic learning tools, techniques and resources did the participants perceive as valuable during the onboarding process? 3. How did those participants who were provided with a transitions coach within the onboarding process perceive their experience and how did these perceptions compare to those of participants who were not provided with a transitions coach within the onboarding process? The study involved 18 participants who were senior leaders at a single organization who had undergone a transition and participated in the onboarding process offered by the organization. Some participants had an onboarding coach and some did not hence participants were divided into two groups, a study group whose members received onboarding coaching support (n=9) and a comparison group whose members did not (n=9). In addition to demographic data and situational profiles, data on the subjects onboarding experiences were collected using three methods: (1) a pre-interview data collection form; (2) individual interviews incorporating a critical incident technique activity; and (3) observations in the workplace setting.

4 Preliminary Findings Two initial findings emerged from a preliminary analysis of the data: the importance of support from members of the management team and the importance of building high-quality relationships with important coalitions in the organizations. We describe these findings in more detail below. Having the expressed and demonstrated support from my boss, the CEO and Senior Team: Alignment and connection with leadership New employees at the senior level have some distinct disadvantages since they do not know company traditions, its history, its culture, the people, and often lack established relationships. They are outsiders attempting to become insiders. Moreover, an outsider has little first-hand experience regarding the protocol of the organization and may stumble out of the gate. One new senior leader shared that the relationship I have with my immediate boss is an important one to me. He is one of the reasons I came to the company. She shared a positive experience that occurred early in her onboarding experience. Before I presented to the CEO, he (my immediate boss) had sort of set the stage already for how Andy (the CEO) should be perceiving me. This same new executive continued to describe the senior level leadership support characterizing I think that there is value in the executives taking the time, the visible time (to connect). Another executive new to the organization reflects, It is a very strong culture and unless you have a boss that can really kind of sit you down and take you through it..it is hard to navigate ( the organization) A new executive that did not take time to meet and connect with others reported that I was impressed that they ( the organization) were taking that (onboarding) very seriously. That this is something that needed to be done. I did not think it applied to me. And that is where I made a mistake. It did apply to me. Establish and Build Effective Coalitions: It is about the team In the book From Good to Great, Jims Collins (2001) declared The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it. Ciampa and Watkins (1999) suggested the importance of coalition building. We propose that onboarding can be an effective process to help new executives build effective teams. In this comparison study, all participants discussed the importance of the team and the impact of the team s ability to get things done reflecting on their own performance. A new leader shared that I have a very weak staff. She continued with so it is frustrating they threw their leftover staff in here and left the mess for me to clean up and you know emotionally it makes me feel angry sometimes. And other times, it just makes me feel like it is a big mountain to climb. Because you start from, not from zero but from negative. However another executive reports, as a high point within the first 6 months, that We created a vision, a mission, and a medium term set of objectives and short term initiatives and got buy-in. So I felt, well that is really what a leader does. Throughout the experiences reported by participants in this study, there is the emphasis on the importance of building relationships. New leaders rarely enter an organization and make changes. New leaders enter organizations and need to connect with individuals and teams that manage and work in the organization. Having

5 the expertise to master the technical aspects of the job is generally assumed as a prerequisite to receiving a job offer, however, having the expertise to connect (build functional and productive relationships) with key individuals and groups is harder to discern and predict. It is also very unlikely that the new leader can make high quality connections without having adequate support and facilitation from existing members of the management team. These findings indicate that responsibility for new leader success lies more with the management team in the organization than with the new leader. Without adequate support the new leader faces formidable obstacles from the organization leading to personal frustration and failure. The evidence from this study and from the statistics on executive tenure and turnover support the need for management teams to aggressively facilitate the learning and integration of the new leader, thereby increasing the chances for success. Implications for Human Resource Development Failed transitions are both frequent and expensive for organizations. Some estimate the costs to be up to forty times the executive s base salary. Thus, there is a compelling rationale to better understand the experience of leaders entering organizations and to further examine the value of quality relationships during this onboarding or transitional period. Effectively developing leaders and managers is a key objective in human resource development (HRD) and crucial to the competitive learning and performance of organizations. The results of this study indicate that relationship building drives the onboarding process and mediates the quality of learning and performance of newcomers. Two implications for Human Resource Development stand out: First, the success of the individual new leader is mutually constituted by the organization and the individual. In the literature and practice, this important point is often overlooked or at best underestimated. Generally, organizations entrust this critical task to the new leader stating that it is his or her responsibility to learn to fit in and take charge. This sink or swim mentality overlooks the responsibility of the management team and the organization to help the new leader transition into the new position effectively. Although it is assumed that leaders are hired for their experience and expertise, this assumption tends to overlook the critical need to adapt this existing expertise to fit to the new context and this context includes the interpersonal, cultural, social, normative, and political environments that mediate the functions of the organization. The important point is that adapting one s expertise to a largely unwritten and unknown context is next to impossible without inside help. Second, the management team and HRD professionals must elevate the importance of relationships above technical expertise in the onboarding process. The evidence in this study and others (e.g., see Korte, 2008) indicates that the application of technical expertise is mediated by the quality of relationships among the working groups. Without high-quality relationships the effectiveness of individuals is hampered. Thus, an important part of the onboarding process must focus on the interpersonal

6 processes of building high-quality relationships and helping the new leader achieve successful membership in the organization s important coalitions and teams. The focus on relationship building actively facilitated by the management team is a crucial framework for the onboarding process. It seems that the ineffectiveness of these requirements will increase the risks of failure for new leaders. References Ashforth, B. E., Sluss, D. M., & Saks, A. M. (2007). Socialization tactics, proactive behavior, and newcomer learning: integrating socialization models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), Bridges, W. (2004). Profiles in coaching: Transitions coaching. In H. Morgan, P. Harris, & M. Goldsmith (Eds.), Profiles in coaching: The 2004 handbook of best practices in leadership coaching (70-81). Burlington, MA: Linkage Press. Bridges, W. (2003). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo Press Ciampa, D., & Watkins, M. (1999). Right from the start: Taking charge in a new leadership role. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Collins, J. (2001). From good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don t. New York, NY: Collins Business. Denis, J. L., Langley, A., & Pineault, M. (2000). Becoming a leader in a complex organization. Journal of Management Studies, 37(8), Downey, D., March, T., & Berkman, A. (2001). Assimilating new leaders: The key to executive retention. New York: American Management Association. Goodman, J., Schlossberg, N. & Anderson, M. (2006). Counseling adults in transition: Linking practice with theory (3 rd ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Groysberg, B., McClean, A.N., & Nohria, N. (2006). Are leaders portable? Harvard Business Review, 80(10), Korte, R. F. (2008). A case study of the socialization of engineers: How new engineers learn the social norms of an organization. Academy of Human Resource Development, Panama City, FL. Moreland, R. L., Levine, J. M., & McMinn, J. G. (2001). Self-Categorization and Work Group Socialization. In M. A. Hogg & D. J. Terry, Social Identity Processes in Organizational Contexts. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.